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James “Jimmy” Blythe – Player Piano Rolls Part 1 – Jazz and Blues

Collectors interested in the jazz and blues history of Chicago’s South Side of the 1920s have most certainly heard of this enormously gifted and prolific artist.  On the merits of his disc recordings alone, he stands as one of the founding fathers of that particular pianistic style known to us as “South Side Piano”.

However, the full legacy of Blythe’s contributions to the jazz scene (and the true extent of his talent) is not fully represented by his disc recordings.  As many other pianists of the day, Blythe recorded hand-played piano rolls.  But Blythe was quite prolific; leaving us with literally hundreds of these roll recordings.  To this day, not all of his known performances have turned up (let alone others which might exist but are not known for lack of complete catalog information).  Considering the generally prevalent “throw-away” philosophy regarding old and outdated music, we are indeed fortunate in having found what we have.

Underworld Blues – Blythe playing a tune by George W. Thomas, creator of the boogie-woogie style

Many rolls were played for consumption by the general listening audience of the day, as 88-note rolls intended for home use by the well-known foot-pumped player pianos.  Other rolls were formatted to be played on coin-operated nickelodeons, for commercial listening in various social establishments.  These rolls were usually ten tunes in length, and consisted of edited 88-note masters. Editing was necessary so that the roll would not be excessively large.  The 88-note masters were usually shortened by a chorus or two, and an introduction, interlude or coda section were occasionally removed as well.

But within this group of coin-operated nickelodeon rolls there existed what might be called a “Race Series,” such as many of the phonograph companies maintained.  These rolls were issued along with all the others in simple numerical sequence; i.e. there was no separate catalog for them, but they consisted almost entirely of jazz and blues material. Such rolls were produced specifically targeting the Black speakeasies and “houses of ill repute” of the Chicago South Side.  Many of these rolls subsequently found their way to similar such places from coast-to-coast.

It is on these coin-operated nickelodeon rolls where Blythe was apparently given free reign, and the full extent of his talents were truly allowed to shine.  The pianistic complexity and seemingly endless flow of ideas which came from this man have haunted me since I first heard his playing on dilapidated nickelodeons back in the 1960s.  Subsequent it became one of my life’s missions to collect and hear everything created by Blythe and his contemporaries.  The mission continues to this day, and will for the remainder of my lifetime.

What little is known of Blythe’s background from a personal standpoint has been well documented elsewhere, and hence will not restated here.  Certainly he was a tragic figure, having passed away at the age of only 30 years.  What I will comment on regards his musical influences, for in this area I feel there is something of interest to add.

Poor Little Me Blues – Blythe’s only roll for the US Music Co. (as ‘Jimmy’)

Over the years, a number of individuals (who I regard as highly credible) had mentioned to me that Blythe studied the piano under the mentorship of Clarence M. Jones.  Jones was considerably older than Blythe, and hailed back to the ragtime generation as both pianist and composer.  (This outstandingly talented pianist/composer will be discussed in detail on a subsequent page devoted to his own many piano roll performances).

Of course the term “mentorship” can refer to most anything; from an intensive teaching relationship, to chance meetings where a few piano “tricks” might have been passed on.  Thomas “Fats” Waller certainly mentored under the great James P. Johnson, but it is well known that before these individuals even met, Waller had learned and mastered James P.’s immortal “Carolina Shout.”  Willie “The Lion” Smith recalled the meeting in an interview, and regarding Waller’s performance of the tune exclaimed that “he made Jimmy like it, and he made me like it.”  And subsequently we know that James P. fostered the enormously talented Waller and truly became his mentor, in every sense of the word. Given Waller’s enormous natural talent, I would doubt that much mentoring was actually needed.

But how did Waller learn to play “Carolina Shout” in the first place? Published sheet music came only a few years after the ca. 1921-2 Waller/JPJ encounter (the piece was published by Clarence Williams, and in simplified format).  Simply put, Waller learned it the same way Duke Ellington and so many others verbally claimed they had; “from Jimmy’s piano roll.”  (I.e. James P. Johnson, the true inventor and “Father of Stride Piano,” whose talents were well known beyond Harlem, extending to Black communities in numerous cities and notably, Chicago).

A great portion of Jimmy Blythe’s musical mentorship, or inspiration if you will, must have come from player piano rolls.  By the time Blythe started making rolls for Columbia Music Roll Co. around 1923, giants such as James P. Johnson, Thomas Waller, Clarence M. Jones and Clarence “Jelly” Johnson had already recorded many dozens of player piano rolls in jazz and blues idioms.  I believe that along with his own prodigious innate talent, Blythe was also a “musical sponge” who was easily able to soak up ideas he heard on rolls (and records of course) and incorporate them into his own style of playing. In fact, it is possible to trace such influences directly by examining Waller and Johnson QRS rolls.  In several instances, Blythe copied the coda sections verbatim from some of these rolls as the endings of his own performances for Columbia.  And naturally many jazz licks can also be traced back to earlier roll artists.  But it is not what an artist hears and learns from these experiences that produces greatness.  It is how the artist uses those ideas to develop a personal style and grow into a truly original talent.

I Don’t Care Whose Mamma You Were – an example of Blythe using his ‘Paul Jones’ pseudonym

So, like any great artist, Blythe was influenced by all those around him and all their recordings.  The piano rolls were an especially important influence, for by slowing the tempo down one could see (and hence reproduce) exactly what notes were being played.  It is a shame that the business of hand-played piano roll recording ended too early for Art Tatum’s playing to be recorded in such a manner.  It would have saved many a brave soul from the agony of slowing 78rpm records down to 45 or even 16rpm to try and understand what this great man was in fact doing!  This I know from personal experience.

Now on to the Blythe rolls which are known to exist, and a few remarks regarding those.  Blythe’s first rolls were as aforementioned for the Columbia Music Roll Co. of Chicago, which later (ca. 1925) briefly became the Capitol Roll and Record Co., then shortly thereafter and finally until the end (1933), the Capitol Music Roll Co.  Absolutely none of the coin-operated rolls ever gave an artist credit, only a title.  Artist credits can be determined with some measure of certainty if an 88-note issue of the tune in question was issued, and Blythe was credited as the artist.  In other cases where an 88-note equivalent was not issued, the identity of the performing artist is simply “educated guesswork,” and will be forever open to argument.  But at the very least let us hope that our guesswork is indeed as educated as is possible.

All of Blythe’s coin-operated material was produced at either Columbia or Capitol (physically the same concern, with two locales).  There is one single known exception to this.  A roll of “Mr. Freddie Blues” was issued by the National Piano Co. of Grand Rapids, Michigan.  This company produced single-tune coin-operated rolls for nickelodeons of their own special design.  The National machines had a carousel arrangement of single rolls, and a selection switch by which the user could choose any individual roll they desired hearing.  It is well known that the National Co. had no equipment for recording hand-playing; yet the “Mr. Freddie Blues” issued by them is extremely similar to Blythe’s Paramount recording.  It is believed that this roll was in fact transcribed from the Blythe Paramount and cut into paper by National arrangers, who were extremely talented.  So, essentially the National “Mr. Freddie Blues” is Blythe, but by transcription. The National Co. is of extreme importance to blues history, having issued some of the rarest blues material, and will be covered on a separate page of this website.

Jackass Blues – an example of Blythe on the parent Capitol label

Capitol 88-note rolls were sold under numerous subsidiary labels, which included Columbia, Capitol, Supertone (the exclusive brand name of the Sears, Roebuck Co.), American, Syncronized, Challenge, Red Seal, Broadway, Cecile, Sterling, Orpheum and probably others.  Frequently, but certainly not always, the rolls issued on the Capitol label (which appeared after 1925 or so) were the longest; i.e. if compared with their Supertone issue counterparts, the Capitol rolls often featured an extra chorus or two which were unique, not identical to earlier sections of the roll.

On all 88-note rolls produced by the Capitol/Columbia Co., Blythe was always credited as “James Blythe,” and never as Jimmy.  Blythe often used the pseudonym of “Paul Jones” on his performances, and I assume this was done by the company to disguise the fact that any one particular individual was making so many rolls for them.  It is odd, because Capitol/Columbia had a great many different artists record, yet other roll companies (notably QRS) did the same thing and for the same reason.  It should be noted that certainly not all performances credited to “Paul Jones” are Blythe’s playing.  Many “Paul Jones” rolls do not bear any resemblance whatsoever to Blythe’s style.  The rolls credited to “Paul Jones” but (in my opinion) are most certainly not Blythe will be listed and available in another page on this site.  The “Paul Jones” credits that are unmistakably Blythe (again, in my opinion) will be posted in this section.

Blythe recorded one known roll for the US Music Co. (also of Chicago), which is unusual since fellow pianists Clarence M. Jones and Clarence “Jelly” Johnson recorded many rolls for this company, which for years had been the predominant roll manufacturing concern in Chicago.  Interestingly, this sole US roll credits Blythe as “Jimmy Blythe.”  Blythe also recorded at least two rolls for the Billings Roll Co. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who marketed rolls under the “Staffnote” and “Playrite” labels.  One of the Blythe rolls is a solo, and the other a duet with his friend Clarence “Jelly” Johnson.  Both Johnson and Clarence M. Jones also made rolls for Billings, and it is likely that either one of them may have brought Blythe to Milwaukee for this purpose (as might also have been the case with Blythe’s sole US roll).  Interestingly again, the Billings rolls credit “James ‘Jimmy’ Blythe.”

Jelly’s Blues – Blythe’s performance of a blues by his friends Clarence Johnson and Lloyd Smith

The rolls played by Blythe will be presented in two sections.  The first will consist of jazz and blues material, whereas the second will be popular songs.  Although a greater interest in the jazz/blues is easily understandable, Blythe’s playing of many of the era’s fox-trot tunes are highly jazz tinged and in many cases represent the definitive roll versions of these tunes.  Blythe’s soulful playing of common popular tunes such as “When The Leaves Come Tumbling Down” are a great testament to his artistic sensitivity.  Blythe always played “from the heart,” and his playing is not easily forgotten, whether a hot jazz tune or sentimental standard.

An important note regarding my system of archiving the rolls:  All performances are listed alphabetically.  Occasionally I list the composer information, but given finite values that must be adhered to regarding title length, this information is usually omitted. In many cases a simple Google search will answer composer questions.  For other tunes, it may well be impossible.  Following this, the artist credit is given.  If the listing says simply “pb James Blythe,” then this refers to an 88-note issue where Blythe was credited as artist on the roll label.  The abbreviation “pbc” means “played by composer.”

Regarding the numerous coin-operated piano rolls that are unmistakably Blythe, but cannot be definitively proven so for reasons stated above, I have taken the liberty of identifying Blythe as the artist when I felt that this was likely the case.  Because there is frequently no basis for doing this beyond my own personal knowledge of Blythe’s playing style, these rolls will have my initials as “per FLH” in the title.  This is not done to represent myself as an all-knowing authority on this subject, for no such individual exists.  It is only to note that in my personal opinion the artist is likely Blythe.  I may be either wrong or right.  This is of absolutely no concern to me when compared to the importance that this surviving material must be heard, analyzed and then subjected to the most “educated guessing” possible.  I encourage such “educated guessing” from the bottom of my heart.  On occasion I list several possible artists.  There are other times when the playing simply does not remind me of any of the “known” artists with which I am familiar, and in such cases I list them as “pb Unknown Artist.”  These “Unknown Capitol Artists” will also be available on a separate page of this website.

In the Jailhouse Now – Blythe’s jazz interpretation of a well beloved country blues

Finally, at the end of each title line the “rollographic” information is given; i.e. roll label and serial number.  The coin-operated rolls of blues and jazz material archived here are known as “A-rolls,” simply because the highest playing note was the A natural 16th down from high C.  For example, a listing showing “….CAP-A-2085-9” is meant to indicate the ninth tune on Capitol A-roll serial No. 2085.  These coin-operated rolls featured sustaining pedal and two levels of dampening.  This capability was very skillfully employed by Capitol arrangers and editors, so much so that many times the rolls do indeed approach the sound of live playing.  The original rolls also had tracks which would cause a mandolin rail to drop, or play xylophone or violin pipes in addition to the keyboard. While these effects are pleasant in some ways, for me personally they distract from what the pianist is doing at the keyboard.  This is what I always wanted to hear and to archive.  All the pianistic marvels are presented clearly without the distractive accompaniment of xylo/mandolin/pipes.  This was my personal decision, and I apologize to nickelodeon purists who may feel differently.

And so, on to James Blythe’s Piano Rolls Part 1 – Jazz and Blues.

Frank Himpsl